So basically Comme des Garcons is honoring its 40th Anniversary by starting a new label called BLACK. The article is by Suzy Menkes and it's beautifully written but all I really care about is what Rei says, as translated by her husband (her other husband, not me, of course). PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT REI MAY KINDLY BE ESCORTED OFF THE PREMISES KTHNX.via interview

“I really felt that I was on my own. I never felt my work had anything to do with being a woman. I am not a feminist. I was never interested in any movement as such. I just decided to make a company built around creation, and with creation as my sword, I could fight the battles I wanted to fight."

THE WORDS OF GENIUS!

"It is true to say that I ‘design’ the company, not just clothes. Creation does not end with just the clothes. New interesting business ideas, revolutionary retail strategies, unexpected collaborations, nurturing of in-house talent, all are examples of Comme des Garçon’s creation."

YES, AND?!

“I start every collection with one word. I can never remember where this one word came from. I never start a collection with some historical, social, cultural or any other concrete reference or memory. After I find the word, I then do not develop it in any logical way. I deliberately avoid any order to the thought process after finding the word and instead think about the opposite of the word, or something different to it, or behind it.”

SO BEAUTIFUL!

“The technique is intellectual because I am using my brain, but the result is shaped through instinct and emotion.”

OF COURSE!

“What is important to me is information. Through my collections, other product projects and through my graphic work, or by collaborating with artists and photographers, I like to tell a story. Without news, nothing is alive. The final result of everything must say something. Information deepens the work.

So, if anything, I am maybe more of a journalist than an artist!"

YOU CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BE, BB.

Fangirling aside, it's always interesting to hear what she has to say about her views on fashion, in both the design and business perspectives. In her Interview interview she said she doesn't believe fashion is art. I don't think fashion is art, but I do think clothing is, though this also depends on your definition of art itself. It also surprises me in a way to learn she doesn't consider herself a feminist (Comme des Garcons is, after all, one of the first-if not the first-labels to introduce androgyny on a runway, and also to completely spit on any common beauty ideals for women), but this also depends on one's definition of a feminist. I think she would be making the same clothes if she wasn't a woman. It's incredibly neat to hear anything she has to say since she doesn't talk much at all, even if I disagree sometimes.

If I may, I would like to point out that she stated she likes to tell a story through her collections, and all the way back in September I said I like to tell a story through outfits. We probz meant it in different ways and I don't mean to flatter myself to the level of Her Highness but OMG OK WE ARE TOTAL TWINZ.

Anyway, I'm excited for this new label. It sounds to be more promising than PLAY, the silly and boring, more commercial line of t-shirts and sweaters with hearts on them, which is sadly the only Comme I can afford. The name itself shows it will be more endearing clothing, more exciting. BLACK, PLAY. Yeah.via nyt

I mean, the image for PLAY I got off an absurd man in shutter shades' Myspace page and the image was placed right next to one of the BAPE logo, if that tells you anything. So hopefully BLACK won't be on anyone's myspace. Just in my closet! Yes?aw 09via

But really, I think the main reason I value every word Rei Kawakubo speaks so much is just because it simply reminds me why I love clothing. The other day I went to all of the bookstores in our downtown area and remembered why Amazon is so great-all the books that these stores carried under "fashion" were about tips and dos and don'ts and I heaved a great sigh and walked out and kicked at stupid rocks on the ground. Stupid rocks that looked like the Olsens and the What Not to Wear hosts and Tim Gunn and Tyra. The thing is, though, Comme des Garcons isn't weird for the sake of being weird or rule-breaking just for the sake of being ~edgy. Then it would be on latfh or something! I mean, you read what she said above. It's emotional and it's thoughtful, and there is actual effort involved. The label does break rules, and it is weird, but by coincidence. Rei Kawakubo started the label because she wasn't happy with the clothing she was given to work with as a young stylist in the 60's. Though one goal of Comme is to create clothing that hasn't been seen before or a perfume with an unidentifiable scent, I don't think it's to prove how incredibly revolutionary the label is. I think this goal is a very good motive for creativity, and a way to not be lazy. A way to avoid stupid easy-way-outs like "classic with a twist." Rei Kawakubo doesn't need to prove anything to anyone, really. I don't think she cares.